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   We appreciate your recognition and support for the critically important work being done by nongovernmental organizations, including Family Health International, and the United States Agency for International Development. Continuing leadership by the United States on HIV/AIDSs initiatives is needed more urgently now than ever before: by the end of this year, some 60 million people, including over a million Americans, will have been infected with HIV since this global pandemic began.

   Your support and that of the U.S. Senate is needed now more than ever, Senator Boxer. We need much more support to save more lives, increase the basic health, well-being and productivity of millions threatened by, infected with or affected by HIV/AIDS, in cluding millions of children, worldwide.

   Sincerely,
Peter R. Lamptey, M.D. Dr. P.H.,

   Director, IMPACT Project,
Senior Vice President, AIDS Pro grams.

   Mr. SMITH of Oregon. Mr. President, I rise today to join Senator BOXER in introducing the Global AIDS Pre vention Act. This legislation authorizes $2 billion over the next five years to support the Agency for International Development's [AID] efforts to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS abr oad. Fully half of the funds authorized would go to fight AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. Th e remainder will go to other areas, including some countries of Southeast Asia where infection rates are growing at alarming rates.

   While the nations of sub-Saharan Africa hav e faced a myriad of disasters in

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   These numbers impact every facet of life in this region of Africa. Wh ere populations of adults aren't likely to enter the workforce or care for their children, an economy cannot prosper and grow. Where millions are orphaned, many times watching their parents die, a future that includes any basic education is likely not to happen. Where governments struggle with civil strife, the basic medical needs of its populations go unmet. I am proud of the private and religious organizations that have heroically struggled to fight the impact on families, however it is clear that the scope of the AIDS cri sis requires additional support.

   In an area where some country infection rate reaches one out of four of the adult population, our diplomatic efforts must first and foremost include a means to stop this epidemic. While the internal political strife in some of these countries can be equally heartbreaking in outcome, the ongoing devastation spread by AIDS in some of these countries needs to be addressed in a broad and immediate way.

   I would like to commend my colleagues from California for her strong leadership in this area and I call on my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this legislation and meet this devastating epidemic.

   By Mr. VOINOVICH (for himself and Mr. GRAMM):

   S.J. Res. 38. A joint resolution to provide for a Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment that prohibits the use of Social Security surpluses to achieve compliance; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

   BALANCED BUDGET CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

   Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, the Congressional Budget Office, CBO, released figures last week showing that the United States is on track to achieve a $23 billion on-budget surplus this fiscal year. If CBO's figures hold up, then the United States will have achieved a true, on-budget surplus for the first time in 40 years.

   In addition, the United States could enjoy an on-budget surplus ranging somewhere between $11 billion and $69 billion in fiscal year 2001, depending on which set of figures you use.

   But what I find truly amazing is what CBO reports could occur over the next 10 years. Under the most realistic assumptions about discretionary spending, CBO estimates we could achieve an on-budget surplus of nearly $900 billion.

   As good as this sounds, we must remember not to get ahead of the game. Just because we could obtain an on-budget surplus, does not mean we have obtained an on-budget surplus.

   Whatever on-budget surplus we actually achieve this year--and the years that follow--is predicated on the ability of Congress and the President to resist the urge to spend it. Unfortunately, with an amount of unobligated money that large, there will be calls from all segments of society and Government to increase funding for this program, or create that program, or institute massive tax cuts.

   That is why the very first priority for this year must be to oppose the temptation to squander this year's surplus on a pork-laden supplemental appropriations bill. I implore my colleagues to maintain the necessary discipline that will let these surpluses grow.

   Even though I am cautiously optimistic about the on-budget surpluses projected for this year and the next, I still do not believe we should treat CBO's projections as the gospel truth as we plan 10 years, or even 5 years, down the road.

   That is because, as most any economist will tell you, the only thing certain about projections is their uncertainty.

   In testimony before the House Banking Committee last year, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said:

   ......it's very difficult to project with any degree of conviction when you get out beyond 12, 18 months.

   In addition, he stated:

   Projecting five or ten years out is a very precarious activity, as I think we have demonstrated time and time again.

   Last July, CBO Director Dan Crippen said, in testimony before the Senate Budget Committee that ``10-year budget projections are highly uncertain'' and that ``economic forecasting is an art that no one has truly mastered.'' And that is from the Director of CBO--the man in charge of making Congress' surplus projections.

   More alarming, as we all know, these surplus projections don't reflect the ticking time bomb of Social Security and Medicare costs that will explode when the baby boomers begin to retire--something that Congress and the President must address now.

   More importantly as we bask in the euphoria of these projected surpluses, we must not forget the sobering fact that we still have a $5.7 trillion national debt--a national debt that costs us more than $224 billion a year to service. That is more than $600 million a day in interest costs alone.

   Out of every Federal dollar spent, 13 cents goes to pay the interest on the national debt.

   In comparison: 16 cents goes for national defense, 18 cents goes for nondefense discretionary spending, and 53 cents goes for entitlement spending.

   Here is the chart. I think most people are not familiar with it. This shows where the Federal dollar goes: net interest, 13 percent; national defense, 16 percent; nondefense discretionary spending, 18 percent; and 53 percent for mandatory spending.

   Think about it. We spend more on interest each year than we spend on Medicare. It is easy to understand our difficulty in reforming Medicare or providing a prescription drug benefit or funding countless other beneficial programs when the money we could use to pay for such programs or activities is being spent on interest.

   That is why I believe every fiscal decision we make from here on must be measured against the backdrop of how it will decrease our $5.7 trillion national debt.

   In fact, in testimony before the Senate Budget Committee last week, CBO Director Crippen stated:

   Most economists agree that saving the surpluses, paying down the debt held by the public, is probably the best thing that we can do relative to the economy.

   On the very same day, Federal Reserve Chairman Greenspan said,

   My first priority would be to allow as much of the surplus to flow through into a reduction in debt to the public. From an economic point of view, that would be, by far, the best means of employing it.

   Lowering the debt sends a positive signal to Wall Street and to Main Street. It encourages more savings and investment which we really need in the country, and, in turn, it fuels productivity and continued economic growth. It also lowers interest rates, which in my view, is a ``bird-in-the-hand'' cost reduction for most Americans, and better than the ``two-in-the-bush'' tax-reduction proposals floating around this Congress.

   Furthermore, devoting on-budget surpluses to debt reduction is the only way we can ensure that our Nation will not return to the days of deficit spending should the economy take a sharp turn for the worse or a national emergency arise.

   As Alan Greenspan recently testified:

   A substantial part of the surplus.....should be allowed to reduce the debt, because you can always increase debt later if you wish to, but it's effectively putting away the surplus for use at a later time if you so choose.

   Even as most economists agree that the best use of any surplus is to apply it against the debt, the bad news is, the President and some of my colleagues believe the best use of this possible surplus is to increase spending and provide tax expenditures.

   By merely proposing his plan, as he outlined at his State of the Union Address, the President has assured a path of confrontation both with this Congress and within this Congress.

   I believe that Congress and the President need to avoid such partisan politics and work together on reaching an agreement as to how best to utilize these surpluses.

   Further, I believe the best option available to us is to agree on a realistic

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   If we can't start paying down our national debt now, with the longest period of economic growth in the history of our Nation, with record low unemployment and low inflation, when will we ever be able to do it?

   We have a moral obligation to do it now.

   I am ashamed, and so should my colleagues be ashamed, that because of 30 years of irresponsible fiscal policies our national debt has increased 1,300 percent. My granddaughters, Mary Faith and Veronica, and my 2-week-old grandson, John, have each inherited a debt of nearly $21,000 because Members of Congress and our Presidents weren't willing to pay for the things they wanted, or, in the alternative, do without those items they could not afford.

   I agree with General Accounting Office Comptroller General David Walker, who, in testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee said:

   This generation has a stewardship responsibility to future generations to reduce the debt burden they inherit, to provide a strong foundation for future economic growth, and to ensure that future commitments are both adequate and affordable. Prudence requires making the tough choices today while the economy is healthy and the workforce is relatively large--before we are hit by the baby boom's demographic tidal wave.

   Fortunately, that message is starting to be heard. Last month, Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, announced his goal of eliminating all federal debt held by the public by 2015. Not soon enough, but Speaker Hastert gets it. And I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle join us in supporting debt reduction as our primary fiscal goal because it is in the best interest of this nation.

   In order to ensure fiscal discipline and prevent us from ``backsliding'' into the fiscal mess we've been in for the past 30-plus years, I am introducing today a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution, or what I like to refer to as the ``backbone budget amendment.''

   I believe it is the only guarantee that we will never return to the days of deficit spending and the accumulation of debt, and we should do it now. Now! The time is right, and those of my colleagues who have championed this in the past should seize upon this opportunity to join me in this effort, because, as they know, or should know, a Balanced Budget Amendment is the most effective method of keeping a handle on spending.

   My proposal is a departure from previous proposals by stipulating that Social Security surpluses be exempt from deficit calculations. That is, a true balanced budget must be achieved without using off-budget Social Security surpluses to finance spending in other areas. A federal balanced budget constitutional amendment will help Congress and the President make the hard decisions because they will no longer be able to tap the Social Security surplus.

   It is a simple matter of fact that without constitutional and statutory balanced budget provisions at the state and local level, many of our state and local governments would be in the same degree of debt as the federal government.

   And let me just touch on my own personal experience, because I've had to deal with very real financial problems in my state. Without a charter provision and a constitutional requirement, it would have been virtually impossible for me to bring the City of Cleveland out of the default I inherited when I was Mayor, and to deal with Ohio's $1.5 billion deficit when I was Governor.

   Think about it--if we had a Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment, and if we were to have a President who didn't want to make tough budget choices on his or her own, the Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment would give the President the backbone he or she needs to make those tough choices.

   And believe me, I've discovered after just 1 year in the Senate, this Congress needs the ``Backbone Budget Amendment'' to force us to make those tough choices. If we pass the amendment, I'm confident that three-fourths of our state legislatures would ratify it without question, because most of them are required by laws in their respective states to balance their budgets.

   And there is one other thing we need to do now, and that is enact Senator DOMENICI's biennial budget legislation.

   I am a co-sponsor of this legislation because I believe it is an important tool to help use federal funds more efficiently and strengthen Congress' proper oversight role.

   Right now, we spend far too much time debating the federal budget, particularly discretionary spending. Conversely, we don't devote nearly as much time as we should on oversight of the federal agencies because of the time and energy consumed by the budget resolution, budget reconciliation and the appropriations process.

   Indeed, when he introduced his legislation last year, Senator DOMENICI pointed out in his statement that in 1996, 73% of the votes taken in the Senate that year were related to the budget--often the same subject is voted upon 3 or 4 times a year.

   A biennial budget will help Congress and the Executive Branch avoid the annual, lengthy budget and appropriations process and allow us to increase our attention on the government oversight portion of our job.

   As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management and Restructuring, I have noted that GAO report after GAO report sits on the shelf and no one does anything about them because no one has the time to conduct the follow-up.

   And from career bureaucrats to Cabinet Secretaries, nearly everyone in the Executive branch knows that when they're asked to come up to the Hill for an oversight hearing, once it's over, it's over--rarely do they have to worry about any follow-up hearings because Congress just doesn't have the time.

   Unfortunately, that reality can create problems that impact public safety or national security.

   As a freshman Senator, I was shocked to learn when we had hearings this past year regarding Dr. Lee and the situation at the Los Alamos National Lab that for 20 years we've had a problem with security at the Department of Energy, and no one did anything about it. But GAO knew: they've released 31 major reports on nuclear-security problems at the Department since 1980. That's just incredible!

   We need the time for oversight, and the 2-year budget cycle will make that possible, just like it did when I was Governor of Ohio.

   There is an old saying, ``prepare for tomorrow, today.'' The President and Congress must make a real commitment to fiscal responsibility, and if we need an example, all we have to do is emulate what most American families do when they have extra money. They don't go out and start spending wildly. They look to pay off their debts--their credit cards, their loans and their mortgages.

   With our booming economy and with inflation and unemployment at historically low levels, there exists the best opportunity in a generation to pay down the national debt, reform and preserve Social Security and Medicare and ensure that our Nation meets its constitutional obligations. Such a legacy of fiscal responsibility would be the best possible gift we could give to our children and grandchildren, and to our Nation.

   Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to print a copy of my legislation in the RECORD.

   There being no objection, the joint resolution was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:

   S.J. Res.

    Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years after the date of its submission to the States for ratification:

   ``ARTICLE --

    ``SECTION 1. Total outlays for any fiscal year shall not exceed total receipts for that fiscal year, unless three-fifths of the whole number of each House of Congress shall provide by law for a specific excess of outlays over receipts by a rollcall vote.

    ``SECTION 2. Total receipts shall include all receipts of the United States Government except those derived from borrowing. Total outlays shall include all outlays of the United States Government except for those for repayment of debt principal.

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